Spanish bond rates have fallen. For no substantive reason. Just more talk. But, heh, I”ll take what I can get. The world looks more positive.
The weekend was hot. The AC didn’t work. I camped out in the basement. That worked. The view wasn’t much. I didn’t find any stuff I’m newly in love with. A lot of startups and semi-startups that look long and risky, or risky and long.
Facebook Shares Drop Below $20; Why It Could Drop A Lot More. From Forbes:
For starters, even at $20 and change, the stock is no statistical bargain. Facebook is expected to post 2012 profits of 49 cents a share, with revenue of $4.93 billion. Ergo, the stock is trading even now at about 41x estimated 2012 profits, or about 7.7x expected revenues. Now, I would agree that the company has been a remarkable success story, now nearing 1 billion users. And the revenue is still robust compared to most other companies: the Street consensus revenue forecast calls for 33% growth at the top line.
The problem is that the stock was so outrageously expensive when it went public that the shares STILL look expensive versus almost any other technology company.
For more, click here.
I suspect that Knight Trading may be worth a shot — now they have enough money to keep them from going broke and once they fall this morning.
The deal they cut over the weekend is pretty rough:. From DealBook:
Under the terms of the plan, the new investors -would receive securities that give them the right to buy new shares in Knight at a price of roughly $1.50 each. On Friday, the shares closed at $4.05. The rescue package, which was arranged by the Jefferies Group and is worth about $400 million, will significantly dilute the holdings of existing shareholders, with the new investors owning roughly 70 percent of the firm. But it will leave Knight alive and independent, averting a potentially messy bankruptcy.
Skype is better than cellular for making phone calls. Skype works on WiFi, which means it’s often far better to call on Skype than your often, awful cellphone. For awfulness, think AT&T. I like the Skype interface, too. Easy to use. Download the free Skype app from the Apple App Store, or get it here.
Unforgettable Quotes From Milton Friedman.
+ If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.
+ Governments never learn. Only people learn.
+ Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.
+ I’m in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal.
More here.
When Did Sandy Weill Change His Mind About Too Big To Fail? And Why? Imagine how much Sandy Weill has lost on his Citibank shares. For Matt Taibbi’s take, click here.
Favorite latest New Yorker cartoons:
Harry Newton who wonders why it’s so hard to to get someone to fix your air conditioner, your plumbing, etc. I thought we were in tough times. You’d think building contractors would call you back. Fortunately, I’m getting better at begging. But begging for the help I pay good money for gives boredom a whole new meaning.
I have an undergraduate degree in Economics. This pretty well sums up what I learned:
Milton Friedman and making fun of Keynesian Economics — Harry?……Who did you talk to over the weekend? Now you need to go to websites like the Ludwig von Mises Institute and Ayn Rand if really want to understand the truth.